Network still seeking home as ‘Gilmore’ fans wait

THE bonds of fandom are not easily broken, even in the face of seeming impossibility.

For instance, die-hard fans of "The Sopranos" were jonesing for two years, waiting for a new season.

One could almost hear the wails of fans of the TV show the "The Gilmore Girls," upon reading the "Isles will be denied a 'Gilmore' fix" story in Friday's "Today" section.

As reported in this space in March, KFVE-TV, on which the "The Gilmore Girls" and other WB shows currently air, will become a My Network TV affiliate in September. An upstart network, its initial shows will be new telenovelas, or dramatic serials.

The WB and UPN networks merged in January into CW, which has yet to sign a Hawaii affiliate.

"We are working on it," said CW spokesman Paul McGuire.

CW has spoken with more than one potential Honolulu affiliate, according to a local TV executive familiar with the negotiations, who did not want to be identified.

UPN programming, which also will cease in September, airs on KIKU-TV.

However, that doesn't mean KIKU will, by default, become the CW Honolulu affiliate.

Friday's story said, "unless local fans rally in some way," "Gilmore" and the soon-to-be-CW's other shows, including "WWE Smackdown," will not be seen here.

Local viewers can send local mail to local stations encouraging them to strike a deal with CW, but the larger allocation of the affiliation equation is the network.

The only contact information found on the CW Web site is a generic e-mail address -- info@thewbpass.com -- to which inquiries or I-want-my-CW-TV demands can be sent. Viewers may also register to receive e-mailed news alerts via the site's "register" link.

State cuts red tape

Online license renewals for Hawaii professionals continue to escalate, saving time and money for all involved.

License renewals are among more than 30 online services available via the state's Internet portal.

Ninety-four percent of Hawaii's engineers, architects, surveyors and landscape architects renewed their licenses online this time around, nearly triple the last renewal period two years ago. More traditional methods are in person and via mail.

"It has been very rewarding to see our online renewal rate consistently increase," said Noe Noe Tom, licensing administrator for the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

The division oversees 25 professional boards and commissions and 20 licensing programs that issue licenses for 45 different professions and vocations.

"We sat down with Professional and Vocational Licensing ... and what we wanted to do was basically find the best way to improve the adoption (of online renewal)," said Russell Castagnaro, director of operations for eHawaii.gov.

Postcards alerted the four groups of professionals to the renewal season, offering a discount for using the online option, along with the URL. Professionals could ask to receive traditional renewal forms via mail, which few did, saving state employees time in preparing the mailings and making data entries, as well as postage costs.

Local license renewals are being executed around the clock and from around the globe, Castagnaro said.

Many of the types of licenses are renewable online, but not all, just yet.

One example would be contractors, who need to have a tax clearance and proof of insurance, and so must provide the documentation in person, he said. Efforts are being made to work the required proofs into the online renewal system.